Posts filed under 'greece'
http://www.tovima.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=1&artid=351032&dt=29/08/2010
Το πιο εντυπωσιακό συμπέρασμα της έρευνας της Κάπα Research είναι ότι η μεγάλη πλειονότητα των νέων με πτυχίο στην Ελλάδα δηλώνει πρόθυμη να εγκαταλείψει τη χώρα για να βρει μια σταθερή και καλά αμειβόμενη εργασία. Από το σύνολο των ερωτηθέντων, το 73,6% δηλώνει ότι θα έφευγε από την Ελλάδα, ενώ το 42% δηλώνει ότι έχει ήδη προβεί σε συγκεκριμένες κινήσεις για να το επιτύχει, αναζητώντας εργασία στο εξωτερικό, κατοικία ή κάποιο ειδικό εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα πρόσθετης επιμόρφωσης. Από εκείνους οι οποίοι δηλώνουν πρόθυμοι να εργαστούν στο εξωτερικό, το 66,4% δηλώνει ότι το κάνει για να έχει καλύτερη ποιότητα ζωής συνολικά, το 44,7% για να βρει μια καλή δουλειά και το 32,6% για να διασφαλίσει περισσότερη αξιοκρατία στην εξέλιξή του. Μάλιστα, το 60,7% δηλώνει ότι θα προτιμούσε μια θέση εργασίας με προοπτική καριέρας στο εξωτερικό παρά μια μόνιμη θέση εργασίας στον ιδιωτικό ή στον δημόσιο τομέα στην Ελλάδα. Ταυτοχρόνως, η συντριπτική πλειονότητα εκείνων που δηλώνουν πρόθυμοι να μεταναστεύσουν θέτει ως επιδιωκόμενο μισθό ένα ποσό της τάξεως των 1.500 ως 5.000 ευρώ. Ακόμη τονίζουν ότι «οι Ελληνες της ξενιτιάς είναι δύο φορές Ελληνες», προσθέτοντας ότι «μπορεί να γίνει πατρίδα και η χώρα που μπορεί να εργαστεί και να ζήσει κάποιος αξιοπρεπώς».
Διαβάστε περισσότερα: http://www.tovima.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=1&artid=351032&dt=29%2F08%2F2010#ixzz0y11LUstZ
In this article by Vima, an Athenian newspaper, 73.6% of Greeks between the ages of 22-35 want to leave Greece, and more depressingly 42% of them are in the process of making plans to leave.
Reasons are opportunities, and depressingly 32.6% say that because they don’t feel that Greece has opportunities for advanced based on merit. In my own life that was part of the reason I wanted to leave. The fact that you had this impression that who you knew was more important than how good you are…
What’s really depressing, is that in the mid-80’s to late 90’s a similar study would have revealed the same data. In the 90’s, with the economic boom, things changed. Greeks in that demographic wanted to stay in Greece.
But now we are back to where we started. And what’s depressing is that the best educated segment of the country will leave, again.
August 29th, 2010
My wife had a paper published in Eurographics 2008 which happened in Crete.
Her husband, being Greek and curiously dissatisfied with his last trip to Crete where he had not had the opportunity to visit the western part of Crete, tagged along.
Today we visited Spinalonga. An island that in the first 50 years of the 20th century was a leper colony. Before turning into a leper colony, the island had been a Venetian fortress and a thriving Muslim community during the Ottoman period.
To get to Spinalonga you first have to drive out to village of Plaka. The drive is scenic. My wife and I got out at some point near the village of Agios Nikolaos to take some pictures. Here’s my picture of the area past Agios Nikolaos
And here’s my wife taking a picture
Once you get to Plaka you have to buy a ticket for a boat ride to the island. 
The island itself clearly shows signs of having been lived on quite recently.
The boat ride is a 10 minute affair costing 7 Euro’s roundtrip. When you arrive you are standing in front of the main entrance into the Leper colony.
What was particularly amazing about our visit was the plethora of wild flowers in bloom that offset the ruins spectacularly.
There is a small exhibit in a restored part of the old Ottoman village.
The exhibit explains the nature of the Ottoman village and the details surrounding the Leper colony. The exhibit also contains some rather more obscure information about the area. In the 1930’s the area around Spinalonga was used as a refueling stop for hydroplanes that served airmail between England and India. There was also a reference, in the exhibit, to the circumstances surrounding the people who lived in the castle at the time of the Turkish handover in 1718.
The view from the island of the mainland is quite pretty. You can see here some of the remnants of the Venetian fortress walls.
There are some very interesting rock formations that play very nicely with the seas colors.
For some folks who lived in Crete, the impact of the visit is considerable. It is a stark reminder of how for almost 50 years, Greeks mistreated Greeks out of fear and loathing.
As a foreigner to this part of the world, this was a visit to a pretty island with a sordid past, that somehow feels too distant to be relevant any more …
April 13th, 2008
When I was growing up my aunt Helen, on my mother’s side of the family, felt it was her personal obligation to make me a proud Greek. I was brought up with tales of the glory of Athens and the heroism of Greeks. We, Greeks, I was told had withstood centuries of invaders and preserved our essential Greekness. Of the stories, four stood out. The first was the story of how General Metaxas told the Italian Ambassador: No, when asked if Greece would become a protectorate of Italy in 1940. The second was the Persian defeat at Salamis by the Athenians. The third was Leonidas’ response to Xerxes demand that he give up his weapons: Molon Lave (translation: come and take them). The fourth was during the Greek war of independence the phrase: Better one hour free than a hundred a slave. These are the cherished stories of my youth. And there was a time, in my life, that they inspired me.
So when I saw the film being previewed I was filled with dread. I am not so demanding that the film be a documentary. After all 300 is supposed to be entertainment and the true facts of what happened are unknowable. I was hoping for two things: to be entertained and the film be at list true to the spirit of the tale. After The further adventures of Hercules, Xena: The Warrior Princess, Troy and Alexander the Great that seemed a ridiculously high bar.
On both accounts, entertainment and veracity, the film exceeded my expectations.
The film is fun. It’s a good old fashioned over-the-top blood fest. There is the usual collection of ridiculously attired villians, scantily clad heroes, music, and slow-motion decapitations. There is the usual collection of witty heroic one-liners (including Molon Labe). There is some T and A, but I think the female and male gay population will enjoy more of the T and A than the straight male community.
The film is mostly true to the spirit of the tale and to the Spartans. The Spartans really did throw the disfigured and maimed children down wells. They really did take the children into camps at the age of seven. They really did fight as a phalanx. Their wives really did say: Come back carrying or on your shield when the men left for battle. The battle did really last three days. The Spartans did thwart the Immortals. A solitary Spartan did leave the battle to tell the tale.
As a Greek brought up on the stories of Leonidas the story rang true.
However, there was one fact that irritated me. Now remember, I am an Athenian. And in my version of the story, Leonidas’ heroic defeat was important because it bought the Athenian Navy enough time to trap the Persians at Salamis. And it was at Salamis that the Persian invasion was defeated. The battle of Platea was just some mopping up of the remnants of Xerxes army. Furthermore, from my perspective the victory of the Athenian fleet was what created democracy, Leonidas’ victory created militarism.
In this movie version of the story, Leonidas’ defeat is followed by a Greek victory in Platea. We are meant to believe that it was the Spartan war machine that defeated Xerxes. There is no mention of the Athenians and their defeat of Xerxes’ Navy.
sigh
In spite of the omission of Athenian role, I strongly recommend the film.
March 18th, 2007
